


The Youtube Collection

by Illusion_Of_Sea_Axes



Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-19 09:12:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13120662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illusion_Of_Sea_Axes/pseuds/Illusion_Of_Sea_Axes
Summary: A collection of youtuber stuff (either inspired by or re-writes of scenes from different youtubers videos) that I make in my free time.





	1. Matthew Patrick | My name is-

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter was inspired by a concept for a Heathens (Nathan Sharp and Christina Vee Cover) PMV and the opening part to the Film Theory Poppy Conspiracy video.

It was a video compilation of one of the subjects, taking clips from different areas all centered around the subject introducing himself. The first few clips were pleasant, him introducing himself to someone at a party, supplying his name at a coffee shop, telling a story. But then it started to change. The introduction started sounding like a question, like the subject wasn’t sure of himself. The background started to become more consistent, sterile white walls. Emotionless scientists sporadically appeared in the video clips.    

 

The volume of the subject’s started to increase, almost overlapping each other. The second-to-last was the longest and, there, the subject was borderline shouting his name into the camera like an insistent child. He sat on the ground, looking tired and frightened. He was surrounded only by solid white.

 

The last clip was almost like a photo. The subject sat in a cell, illuminated by LEDs and containing a semi-comfortable looking cot along with a plastic chair that the subject was sitting in. He wore an orange jumpsuit, like a prisoner, and his eyes stared blankly ahead. In a simple font on a plastic name tag stitched into the suit was the subject’s name and a nickname he had given to himself in the previous clips in smaller font beneath it.

 

Matthew Patrick

    ‘MatPat’ 


	2. Home Again | Jacksepticeye | Night In The Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack returns to his home of Possum Springs after dropping out of college. 
> 
> (A 'dramatic re-write' of most of the first episode in Jacksepticeye's Night in the Woods play-through with Jack in the place of Mae Borrowski)
> 
> (Warning: This chapter is extremely long. Nearly 10,000. It took me about twelve hours, I think)

_ The year grandad died, we had the worst flood since 1998.  _

_ Gregg got stuck on top of a dog house. _

_ The power was out for two days. _

_ Casey Hartley came by in his dad’s boat and I laughed when I saw him. _

 

_ Grandad left me an apple crate of books. He loved ghost stories and quoted them to himself in the hospital bed. _

 

_ “They went looking for the gods, and died in lonely places.” _

 

_ On his last day, he sat up suddenly and stared bug-eyed out the window at the old trains rattling to somewhere else from somewhere else. _

 

_ He turned to my dad, eyes wide. _

 

_ “This house is haunted,” he said. _

_ And died. _

 

The Possum Springs bus station was quiet when Jack arrived. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was expecting, since it was around 10 at night, but he was definitely expecting more than a completely empty station. 

 

“This is great. I mean, I wasn’t expecting a party or anything big but really? I figured  _ someone  _ would at least be here?” He sighed, looking at the most eye catching thing in the room, which was a huge mural. “Welcome home, Jack.”

 

Even though it had only been almost two years, it had felt like forever since Jack had been back home. Not that he hadn’t been thinking about home nearly every single night since he’d left, of course. 

 

Jack didn’t remember the mural, stepping closer to look at it better. He didn’t remember it being there last time. “Huh. When did they put this thing up?” The mural had a statue of a possum (presumably) holding a musket in front of a train with a backdrop of trees, hills, and a waterfall. “Possum Springs has never looked more... falsely advertised. That train’s not even on any tracks.”

 

Jack turned around to look around the room some more. A vending machine stood next to a payphone, or, what was left of the payphone anyway.

 

_ I guess it’s good for payphone companies that Possum Springs gets zero cell reception. It’d be nice to call my parents. If only some jerkhole hadn’t taken the time to actually rip it off. Who even steals a phone, anyway? The great phone stealer? _

 

On the vending machine was a bright image of a fox, wearing all black and popping open a soda can. Fiasco fox, the face of the Fiasco Soda brand. Jack could remember that he always thought the fox was really cool (dreamy, almost) when he was little. Maybe that had something to do with his shades and the clothing that seemed more fit for an action film. 

 

Turned back around and began to walk towards the desk, slowing down briefly as the tv that was mounted on the wall behind it loudly crackled with static that quickly transitioned to a show called  _ Garbo & Malloy _ . The theme played briefly before transitioning to the two hosts.  

 

“Welcome back to Garbo and Malloy!”

 

“What’s in the news today, Malloy?” 

 

“Markets were up today.”    
  


“Way up!”

 

Their words were followed by a loud burst of applause from some unseen audience. Jack didn’t really care too much about it, since it wasn’t exactly likely that increased markets would affect Possum Springs all that much. It was an old little mining town in the middle of nowhere. 

 

“I’m looking at a chart and it’s pretty impressive!”

 

“The economy added 15,000 jobs! Mostly in the chart sector.”

 

“Which is notoriously recession proof!” 

  
“Or should I say, recession  _ woof? _ ” Jack said quietly, smiling a little at his own terrible pun.

 

“My, my, Garbo. We got a little political there!” 

 

“Gotta get political every now and then.” That was followed by another burst of applause and Jack walked away. He didn’t really understand that show. Jack would have greeted the person at the desk, but no one was there. 

 

There was an old, blue-ish bird standing by the exit. He wore a plaid shirt and had a toolbelt. At the moment, he was fiddling with something in his toolbelt. He had a beard, which Jack thought looked a little odd on him, but it was still somewhat fitting.

  
“Uh, hey, where is everybody?” 

 

“It’s 10:45. It’s closed. Not a lot of folks getting off the last bus to Possum Springs these days, just you.” That made sense, seeing as there wasn’t a whole lot in Possum Springs to attract new people. Especially not after that flood. 

 

Jack was silent for a moment before asking, “Isn’t there supposed to be someone at the desk?” 

“Closed,” Jack frowned.

 

“But why are the lights on? Why is the TV on?”

  
“I get spooked when I’m here by my lonesome,” Jack could understand that. He didn’t like the idea of working alone in the dark, especially since the bus station wasn’t very close to the more densely populated parts of Possum Springs. 

 

“Oh. Well, uh, can I squeeze past you?”

 

“Nope. Just broke the damn thing.” Jack had no clue what this stranger was doing to the door, but it didn’t exactly look like maintenance work.

 

“When do you think it might be done?”

 

“Right after you go grab me a Fiascola from the machine.” 

 

“Am I paying for this?” Jack didn’t have a dime in his pocket. If he did, he probably would have grabbed a drink from the machine himself.  

 

“I always rig it when I’m here after hours.”

 

“Nice. So, free as in free?” Jack considered grabbing a drink for himself. 

 

“Free as in no one’s here to say otherwise.” Jack shrugged and turned around, walking back over to the machine. He paused before selecting the option. One of the options was Lime Fiasco, which was Jack’s personal favorite. 

 

The machine played a short, tinny tune as it dispensed a can of Fiascola. Jack hadn’t heard that tune in a while and he could definitely say he didn’t really miss it. He picked up the drink and walked back over to the stranger. 

 

“Here ya go. One free-ass-cola.” Jack held up the drink and the stranger snatched it out of his hand. He didn’t even bother to open it, instead drilling a hole into the underside (he had grabbed it without moving to face Jack) and taking a long sip. Jack chuckled at that, which the stranger didn’t seem to mind. 

 

“Yummers. So, what are you doing here?” 

 

“I lived here. Well,  _ lived  _ here.” Jack corrected himself, fidgeting with his jacket sleeve. 

 

“Hmm. Strange.” 

 

“When do you think that door is gonna be finished?” Jack didn’t want to stick to the topic of his relationship with Possum Springs, especially not with some stranger. 

 

“Now. Goodbye.” Not even looking at Jack, the janitor opened the door and left. He flicked off the lights as he did, leaving Jack alone in the station. He didn’t need to spend more than a few moments inside the dark building to see that the janitor was right to not want to be here in the dark and quiet. He quickly followed the stranger out the door. 

 

It was colder outside, which wasn’t a huge shock to Jack. It was getting close to Harfest, after all. The nearest tree only had a few more leaves clinging to the branches, shaking in the slight breeze. 

 

Light spilled out the front doors of the bus station. There were the evenly-spaced lamps mounted on the walls of the station, illuminating the withered bushes that lined the sides.  **Bus Station** was spelled out on one side. 

 

_ Wait. Where’d the janitor go? _

 

Jack looked around, but he couldn’t see anyone else nearby. A small distance away was a recognizable building. Jack had seen it quite a bit when he was younger. The fact that it was still there was what it was really noteworthy for.

 

The bus station was probably the newest thing in Possum Springs and it wasn’t even in town. It was right outside of town. Jack could only guess they somehow got state funding to build it, even though no one really came to Possum Springs anymore. It did make a good first or last impression, if the abandoned glass factory didn’t do that already. Jack was sure that no one would be getting rid of it anytime soon.

  
“Well, I’m right outside town. Mom and Dad nowhere to be found. Dark and cold… Guess I’m walking alone.” Jack shrugged and started making his way down the cracked concrete path that crumbled at the start of edge of a treeline. There were only two lamplights to illuminate the area and the light didn’t reach very far into the foliage.

 

There were a few benches lined up on the side of the path, but Jack was sure people didn’t spend much time sitting out here near the highway. Well, maybe the kids who didn’t have enough to do to fill time but sit around.

 

Jack glanced up at the lamps, which had attracted small amounts of bugs, before his attention was dragged to the train tracks in the distance as a train passed. It was loudly rumbling as it went, a sound that was very familiar to Jack. 

 

“I didn’t realize how much I missed the sound of that train…” He said quietly, thinking back to how he used to hear it when he was in his bed, back when the leaves had fallen off the trees and the snow was starting to fall. 

 

Jack paused at the end of the path. 

 

_ Well, guess I’m gonna hike through the woods.  _ Through the woods was home, Jack’s bed, and his seemingly negligent parents. With that, Jack continued into the foliage. He didn’t walk very long before coming across a slope. Jack made sure to step carefully so he wouldn’t slip on the fallen leaves and the cold ground. 

 

There was a pipe jutting out of the ground, covered in dirt and completely dry. 

 

There was another huge pipe just beneath it and Jack jumped down onto it. It was old, one side covered in graffiti and there was a small stream dribbling out of it. Jack haphazardly jumped down from the end of it, landing on much softer ground.

 

It was slightly chillier, which made Jack thankful he was wearing a jacket. There were Fiasco brand soda cans scattered among the leaves and covered in dirt, their labels starting to peel or fade. There were severely tipped over shopping carts a little further off and Jack could see a few plastic bags snagged on nearby tree branches. The stream fed into a shallow body of water.

 

It was a little dreary down here and the smell was somewhat unpleasant. “This is some dank nature.” Jack kicked a half-burned cigarette. “Dank nature and garbage. Fuckin’ 420 blaze it.” He smiled at that for a moment before stepping into the shallow water and making his way across.

 

_ Eugh, it’s all wet and gross. _

 

There was a rock that was taller than the water, an abandoned bottle of alcohol with a yellowed label sat on top of it. Nearby was a banged up bicycle, the body pinned under a log, whose wheel slowly spun with the breeze. There were a lot of neatly-cut logs that Jack could only assume was a lost load from an old sawmill. There must have been a sawmill around there at some point, considering the nearby park was called Sawmill Park.  

 

“Guess I gotta climb this.” Jack said before hoisting himself up onto one of the logs. He gradually started making his way up the mass, briefly pausing when they would shake or shift even slightly. 

 

From this high up, Jack could see an old fridge wedged against a boulder and some more of the logs. 

 

As he gradually got higher, Jack began to get a bit more confident. Reaching one of the higher logs, he chose to see how far he could go out towards the end of the log. As he did, the log began to dip downwards and Jack was reminded of how unpleasant it was to look down from a high place. 

 

The log suddenly dislodged from the slope, along with most of the other logs. Jack yelped as he slipped, screaming loudly as he fell. “JESUS!” For a brief moment, Jack could only hear the rolling and scraping of the moving logs. 

 

He didn’t like the feeling of soft ground seeping into his jacket, but the adrenaline was pretty damn exhilarating. That was probably the most exciting thing Jack had done in a while. 

 

“Holy shit. That was dangerous. I could have died… That was amazing!” Jack pushed himself to his feet and started making his way up the slope again, this time being more careful with the logs. His heart stopped pounding as much when his feet finally reached solid ground again, even if he was nearly crawling up the steep slope. 

 

The slope gradually started to grow less and less steep. Jack noticed faded words and shapes etched into the tree bark. In the distance were the faint glow of the lights in Possum Springs. Jack smiled slightly at the sight of the warm glow spilling out of windows in the distance.

 

Jack slowed as he passed by the start of a chain link fence, taking in the sight before him. It was an old playground that Jack probably hadn’t been to in nearly ten years. Judging from the decayed and overgrown state of everything, no one else seemed to have been either. 

 

Jack walked over to the decayed old structure of the playground, passing by the dried up weeds that had been growing up on the fence. He wasn’t entirely sure what the designers had been going for when they made it, but it seemed like a weird sort of mix of a boat and a castle. The ship’s bow had mostly crumbled now, leaving a ragged hole that was full of dirt and decayed leaves. Most of the paint was chipped off the side and Jack noticed that the other half of the ship was missing. However, the old pink octopus that the kids had nicknamed Mr. Snorkels was still there with his fancy mustache and monocle.  

 

Clearly, no one had been here for a while. Now it was just a place for animals to nest and have babies. Jack wondered what kind of weird animals would have babies in the old remains of a playground. 

 

_ Dirt possums, night snakes, mystery beasts of all shapes? Probably.  _

 

Jack walked around to the other end of the ship, noticing that not only had the back end started to sink into the ground but that there were two conveniently placed boxes that were like steps onto the deck. 

 

A small, childish grin came to Jack’s face as he quickly jumped onto the boxes and stepped onto the deck of the ship. A couple planks were missing, revealing the inside of the ship that had already been exposed by the hole in the bow and the missing back end, but otherwise most of the deck was intact. 

 

Jack walked over to the old ship wheel and grabbed hold of the wheel and spun it, listening to the sound. “Ahoy!” He shouted, still grinning like a child. He could still remember when he was barely reaching the top of the wheel and he definitely remembered not growing much since then.

 

The wheel was right before the tower-like structure that took up a large portion of the boat deck. It had once been the castle-esque tower, but now it was missing most of the walls and the ladder.

 

Jack wondered how he could possibly get to the top of the tower and looked around the playground. 

 

There were weird pillars in front of the ship, both labeled as 2 and 3. Jack wasn’t sure what happened to 1, or what they were originally for. Jack paused as he remembered the time, back when he was in highschool, that Cathy Daminco’s boyfriend had taken her out here to make out and then break up. It had been a dick move, in Jack’s opinion. Then, the very next day, Cathy pulled out Cindy Clark’s nose ring at the mall. 

 

_ This place is so full of romance. _

 

Jack’s ears perked up as he suddenly thought of something, his eyes looking up before looking at the pillars in front of the ship. 

 

Being careful of where he was stepping in order to avoid his foot to go through one of the gaps in the deck (it had happened once before when Jack was little. Bea had called one of the adults to help pull Jack out), Jack took a running start and leaped off the edge of the deck. 

 

He landed on the first pillar before smoothly keeping the momentum to reach the second pillar. He let out a squeak as he stumbled, nearly crashing head-first into a tree. Instead, he wrapped his arms around one of it’s branches. 

 

For a moment, he remained dangling off the branch before pulling himself up onto the wide branch. He took a deep breath to calm his racing heartbeat before standing up and bracing himself against the tree trunk. “There we go.” 

 

Holding out his arms for balance (or to hold out if he fell), he started walking along to the narrow edge of the branch. There wasn’t too big of a gap between the branch and the top of the tower, whose floor was still very intact. Jack took a wide step and pulled himself into the tower.

 

From here, he had an amazing view of the surrounding area. He could hear the wind rushing around, rustling empty branches and fallen leaves. It was pleasant. Peaceful. Jack could see the buildings of Possum Springs from here. 

 

It had only been two years since he lived in Possum Springs. He didn’t realize he would have missed it so much. 

 

Jack glanced over to the other side of the tower, noticing the black powerline that slowly swayed in the breeze. It was so close, so familiar, that Jack only barely acknowledged the fact it was a really bad idea before stepping onto it. He held out his hands to keep his balance, heart jumping into his throat as his upper body lurched forward in some form of trying to maintain balance. 

 

Taking as careful steps as possible, Jack began to walk down the powerline in the direction of home. He’d nearly forgotten what he was doing out here in the first place, caught up in a rather odd trip down memory lane. 

 

He stopped at the powerline pole, standing on the top for a few moments before wondering whether he should try and climb down. He didn’t exactly have the upper body strength to climb up it, but he probably had the strength to climb down it.

 

He did not. 

As he tried to get himself onto the side of the pole, he slipped and crashed into the ground with a loud thud and knocking most of the air out of his lungs. 

 

“OW!”

 

He heard a click, followed by a bright light being shined in front of him. He squinted in response, scowling at whatever the source was until his eyes started to adapt to the light again. 

 

“Hello, Jack. Been awhile.” Jack recognized the voice of his aunt.

 

“Hey,” Jack wheezed, trying to take in oxygen while also talking. “What are you doin’ out here? Nothing… Better to do?” Jack didn’t even try to get up. 

 

“I was out here, doing my rounds, when I saw you in the very off-limits playground.” Jack looked behind him to see the powerline pole was wrapped with yellow police tape and an orange ‘Do Not Enter’ sign was propped up near it.

 

Suddenly, the lack of maintenance on the playground made more sense. 

 

“So?” She put the hand that wasn’t holding a flashlight on her hip. 

 

“Get in the car, Jack.”

 

“No.” Jack said, almost chuckling a little at how childish it came out.

 

“You want to spend your first night back in jail, Jack?”

 

A long pause before Jack said, in the same tone of voice, “no.”

 

Molly reached down, pulling Jack to his feet, allowing him to dust himself off before ushering him into the police cruiser. 

 

The drive was quiet, aside from the music playing from the radio. When they reached Jack’s old home, Molly told him good night and to avoid any other off-limit areas before driving away and leaving Jack to walk up the steps to his old home.

 

Jack still had a key to home, which he hoped still worked. He was grateful he hadn’t lost it in his hike in the woods. 

 

With a simple push and turn, the door unlocked with a click and Jack stepped into the familiar entryway of his childhood home. He gently closed the door behind him, taking a moment to look at the framed pictures that covered the wall, surrounding a faded sign that read ‘ _ bless this mess _ .’ 

 

Yup. This was home. 

Jack walked into the living room, pausing next to the couch where his father currently sat.

 

“Hey! Remember me?” 

 

His response was a yell of terror, followed by a sharp “Jack! You gave me a heart attack!” 

 

“Good!” Jack said, raising his arms for a moment. He lowered them when his father gave a loud “oooohhh” as he realized the situation.

 

“Jack, we thought you were coming home tomorrow night!”

 

“You thought wrong!”  

“How’d you get here?”

 

“I walked until I got arrested by Aunt Mall Cop.” Jack remembered giving Molly that nickname back when he was in highschool.

 

“Oh! Did you say hi to Molly for me?”

 

“No. I say hi for no one! Eff the cops! I’m going to bed. Is my bed still here, or are we waiting for tomorrow night for that, too?”

 

“Aw, Jack, it’s good to hear that voice again.” Jack smiled a little at that.

 

“Goodnight!’ He called as he walked up the stairs. 

 

The second floor had more recent pictures (compared to the black and white photos) then downstairs. One of Jack’s graduation, another of just him and his parents, and several of his grandfather. A cage hung from a stand on a dresser, covered by a curtain. In the wall under the stairs, a blue bird night light was plugged in next to an old grandfather clock which was next to the door that, if the house was the same as how Jack remembered it, led to the crawlspace.

 

The grandfather clock was something from the old country, along with the trunk in the storage room and whatever got buried under the house in the cement incident. 

 

Curious, Jack opened the door and stepped into the crawlspace. He instantly scrunched up his face at the old smell that filled the room. He kept his hands to himself, noting that there was a thick layer of dust over everything that he could see.

 

And everything Jack could see was really just a large mass of boxes. Jack definitely didn’t remember the crawlspace being jammed up, but then again a lot of things could change in the span of two years. Jack decided not to think about it. He decided to ask his dad to move them in the morning. 

 

Quickly, Jack got out of the crawlspace before he accidentally sneezed and got dust everywhere, making his way up the second set of stairs up to the attic where his old room was. 

 

Jack found himself smiling as he stepped inside. His room had remained the same as it had been when he left two years ago. However, unlike the crawlspace, it wasn’t covered in dust. His Witch Dagger poster was still there, along with the notes and other miscellaneous posters that covered the wall. 

 

He smiled at the sight of a pair of drumsticks, sitting on his nightstand. There was a small drum set shoved into the corner of the room.  

 

Jack sat down on his bed, stretching his arms over his head before pulling off his boots and dropping them on the floor next to his bed. He threw his jacket over the footboard of the bed. Letting out a loud yawn, Jack curled up under the blanket and fell into a pleasant, dreamless sleep. 

  
  


Jack woke up as the morning light spilled in through the window over his bed. He yawned, sitting up and stretching his arms over his head again before leaning over the edge in an attempt to grab his shoes without getting out of bed.

 

Instead, he fell off the bed. It did enough to wake him up, however. 

 

Pulling on his shoes and grabbing his jacket, Jack stood up and headed downstairs. When he stopped at the base of the stairs, he heard a familiar voice call to him.

 

“Jack?”

 

“Yeah?” He called back. 

 

“Come see me in the kitchen before you leave.” Jack wasn’t really sure where he was planning on leaving to, exactly, but he was glad to talk to his mom before heading out. 

 

He walked over to the kitchen to see his mother sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book. Jack sat down on an open space on the counter, remembering how he used to do that when he was in highschool.

 

“Hi, mom.”

 

“Welcome home, Jack.” She smiled warmly. 

 

“Thanks for not changing the locks.”

 

“Sorry we mixed up the day you were coming back. It was such short notice.” 

 

“It’s okay, mom.” Jack pretended to ignore the last comment. He didn’t want to think about it.

 

“Jack, is everything okay?” His mother seemed to notice something was up, though. 

  
“What do you mean?”

 

“Did something happen?” She tilted her head, giving the look that told Jack she knew something was off. 

 

“No, I just needed to come home.”

 

“Well, Jack, I think you can understand my worry. That’s not something a college sophomore just up and does.” 

 

“I know,” Jack answered.

 

“You can tell me if something happened, you know.”

 

“Mom, I’m fine. Really. Can we talk about this another time?” Jack honestly wanted to just pretend the whole college thing never happened. He wanted to forget why he left. 

 

“Sure, Jack. It’s okay.”

 

“Thanks.” 

 

“I betcha your old friends will be happy to see you.” Jack instantly brightened up at the memory of his friends. Especially Gregg. 

 

“You wouldn’t happen to know where Gregg is, would you?” The idea of seeing that bubbly dog again after so long. The mere idea of talking to Gregg again made Jack smile a little bit. 

 

“Oh, yeah. Gregg’s working down at the Snack Falcon, in Town Centre west by the Clik Clak.”

 

“We have a Snack Falcon now?” Jack decided he would go over and say hi later.

 

“Yeah, it’s so handy! You know, ever since the Food Donkey went out-”

 

“The Food Donkey is gone?!” 

 

“Oh yeah, going on almost a year now.”

 

“Wow,” Jack hadn’t expected too much to change over the span of two years in a town like Possum Springs, but clearly he was wrong. “Where does everyone shop?”

 

“Everyone goes down to the Ham Panther out by the highway, now. But I see your little friend Gregg when I go into town.” 

 

“Wow, the Food Donkey’s gone, we have a Snack Falcon…” Jack found himself hoping Gregg hadn’t changed too much.    
  


“It’s a whole new world, sweetie.”  

 

“It sure is.”

 

“Well, have a good time out there! Lots to explore. See what’s changed.”

 

“I will!”

 

“Oh, just watch out for all the construction.” 

 

“Well, it wouldn’t be fall in Possum Springs without loads of construction.” Jack was a little glad to know that hadn’t changed. 

 

“It’s so festive!” Jack jumped off the counter, walking over to his mother and giving her a kiss on the cheek. 

 

“I’ll be back later.” 

 

“Bye, honey!” She called as Jack walked over to the door, pulling on his jacket as he did.

 

“Bye, mom!” He called over his shoulder before heading outside.

  
  


Jack was grateful that he grabbed his jacket. It was only slightly warmer than it had been last night, which wasn’t a whole lot warmer at all. 

 

He took in the scenery, since he couldn’t do that in the dark from inside Aunt Molly’s cruiser. Not to mention he was struggling not to fall asleep the entire ride. 

 

Jack leaped back as a cluster of kids ran past, playing some form of tag. 

 

“Kill, kill, kill!” One of them shouted.

 

“FBI, freeze!”

 

“Jesus, kids. Can’t you talk about anything better?” Jack muttered, starting to walk in the same direction on the sidewalk. He stopped when he saw a familiar billy goat who was raking the leaves on his lawn. “Hey, Mr. Twigmeyer!”

 

“Jack, zat you?” He asked, looking at Jack.

 

“Sure is,” Jack sad with a slight chuckle.

 

“You home for a visit?”

 

“No, I’m home for good!” 

 

“What? They don’t have college anymore?” 

 

“Nope. Burned down,” Jack grinned.

 

“Well, I’m sure you burned it down.”

 

Jack pressed a hand to his chest in mock shock. “These allegations, Mr. Twigmeyer!” 

 

“I ain’t allegatin,’ just try not to burn down my lawn, you little firebug.” 

 

“No promises!” Jack called as he continued on his way, watching as the cars that drove by caused the fallen leaves to whip up into the air and then land only a few inches from where they were before. Jack grinned as a squirrel ran into his path only to dart off into another direction.

 

“Yes, squirrel, fear me!” 

 

Jack noticed the slope. He always wondered if the original founders of Possum Springs were just too lazy to try and build around the hill or to try and excavate it. That being said, it was a unique thing about Possum Springs that Jack didn’t see anywhere else.  

 

Jack stopped at the base of the steps to one of the tallest buildings in Possum Springs, looking at the person sitting on the top of the steps. 

 

“Selmers!” 

 

“What are you doing home?”

 

“Dropped out.” Jack answered bluntly. 

 

“Wow.”

 

“Yeah, I guess.”   
  


“So, like, you just don’t go back?”

 

“That’s about it.” 

 

“Weird.”

 

Jack continued on to the next building, recognizing the man standing on the porch. Without really thinking, he walked up the steps. 

 

“What are you doin’ on my porch?” An older man asked from where he sat on the edge of the porch. 

 

“Nothin’,” Jack answered quickly, turning to the familiar bear. “Hey, Mr. Chazokov!”

 

“Hello Jack! My best worst student!”

 

“Ha ha, yeah. Liked the constellations, hated school.”

 

“Hey, don’t know school! School is vital for your future! So, what are you doing back in Possum Springs?”

 

“I dropped out of school.” Jack would have burst out laughing at the expression that crossed Mr. Chazokov’s face.

 

“Oh. Well, if you’re still interested in constellations, come by my roof down the hill later this week. I should have my new telescope set up by then.” 

 

“Sure thing!” Jack smiled before heading down the steps from the porch and continuing up, passing by an old cat-engraved headstone. The slope started to even out and Jack saw the same cluster of kids he had seen before, only now they were playing on the deck of what Jack assumed was one of their homes. 

 

Jack stopped when he saw another familiar face. Well, somewhat familiar. A cat who was sipping a cup of coffee. 

 

“Danny, right?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“How’s it going?” Jack was pretty sure this was one of the seniors in highschool back when Jack was a freshman.

 

“Just lost my job.” 

 

“Oh no!”

 

“They say construction’s always hiring, but it’s not. In fact, it’s often laying off guys named Dan.” 

 

“What are you gonna do?”

 

“I’m open to suggestions.”   
  


“Don’t give up, I’m sure someone in town is hiring.” There really wasn’t too much work in a town like Possum Springs really ever, but Jack liked to be positive. 

 

“I’ve been out of work for a year before, and this time I only lasted six months before getting laid off. Do you know what that does to a resume?”

 

“Not really,” Jack couldn’t say he’d ever really needed a resume, seeing as he didn’t have a part-time job in high school. 

 

“I have a zombie resume. It’s dead, but somehow it’s still going all over the place.”

 

“Oh,well, see ya later. Good chatting with ya!” Jack called over his shoulder as he kept walking. Dan’s ear only twitched to show he heard. 

 

Jack stopped at the opening to the underground tunnel under Towne Centre platform, only for a moment, before heading down the steps. 

 

The inside of the tunnel was colder than outside. Jack could hear the echoing drip of water further off in the tunnel. What Jack quickly recognized was the familiar food stand and the delicious smells. It was bigger than the normal food stand, more like an open window restaurant, and was the biggest source of light down here. 

 

The sign above the menu read _ Trolleyside News _ in flickering neon letters. Jack could clearly remember the taste. This was probably one of the things he had missed most in the two years he was gone. 

 

“Hey! I remember you!” The chef inside shouted, turning their attention to Jack. 

 

“Hello!” Jack said, waving to the chef. 

 

“Thief!” Jack dropped his hand, scowling.

 

“Oh, come on. That was years ago!”

 

“Once a thief, always a thief!”  _ Well fuck you, too. _

 

“Alright, you know what? This isn’t even a restaurant! It’s a crappy food stand in a whole!”

 

“This establishment has been in business for fifty years!” The chef snapped back indignantly.  

 

“Fifty crappy years in a hole! You know what else has been in a hole for fifty years? Dead people from the 60’s!” Jack threw up his arms, smirking in pride at his words. 

 

“No respect! No respect, this one!” 

 

“You can keep your hole pretzels! And your damp pierogis!” 

 

“Yeah, yeah, go jump in the river.” Jack let his arms drop to his side and walked past the vacant tables set up outside the stand, longingly looking at the display of fresh pretzels. He honestly thought the pretzels there were delicious, but he didn’t feel like stealing one right now even though he kind of wanted to out of spite. 

 

Further into the tunnel, there was a mural that reached from the ceiling to the floor. It was meant to be a representation of the miners who founded Possum Springs, a homage to the history of the small town. There was a lot of graffiti that covered the bottom of it.

 

Milling around one part of the mural was a collection of teens. Probably freshmen or sophomores. Jack remembered how he and his friends would sometimes come here to just hang out. 

 

“Hi teens,” Jack cringed a little internally at his greeting.

 

“Hey,” the kid with piercings had a deeper voice then Jack would expect.

 

“What are you guys doing?”

 

“Nothin.’”

 

“Cool. It’s cool that people still hang around down here. We used to do that when I was in highschool.” 

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I wasn’t in highschool that long ago, you know.”

 

“How old are you?” Another kid, one leaning against the graffiti covered pillar. 

 

“Twenty.”

 

“So, you can’t buy beer.”

 

“No.”

 

“Do you have a car?”

 

“No,” Jack said in a somewhat sadder voice. These teens honestly made him sound useless, which he wasn’t. Jack shook his head. He was twenty, he didn’t need to care over whether a couple kids who hadn’t even graduated high school yet thought he was useless or not. He quickly made his way over to the stairs at the end of the tunnel. 

 

He appreciated the fresh breeze and warm sunlight as he returned to the surface. Right above the exit to the tunnel was the only bar in Possum Springs. The building next to it was easy to identify, what with the words  **Snack Falcon** proudly displayed on the door and the front of the store. 

 

Jack stepped inside, listening to the bell chime as he entered. The inside of the store was warmer than outside and filled with a simple tune that would probably drive Jack crazy if he was stuck inside it all day. A chalkboard that had the words Snack to School was pinned to the wall near the door.

 

“Oh. My. God.” Jack turned his head to see an incredibly familiar face behind the counter. Jack smiled at the sight of him.

 

“Hey Gregg!” 

 

“What are you doin’ here?”

 

“I’m back!” A smile crossed Gregg’s face.

 

“Like, back as in today?”

 

“Back as in  _ back _ !” 

 

“Too bad you didn’t die at college!”

 

“Too bad you didn’t catch a flesh-eating disease.” Jack shot back, not missing a beat.

 

“Too bad you didn’t join a murdercult.”

 

“Too bad you didn’t lose all your limbs in a freak soda machine accident.” 

 

“God, it’s good to see you.” Gregg suddenly began to wave his arms around, yelling at the top of his lungs. If Jack didn’t know him well, he’d wonder if Gregg had just seen a spider or had gone mad. Jack grinned back at him. 

 

“How’s Angus? You two still a thing?” Jack didn’t get an answer, as Gregg dropped his arms.

 

“Hold on!” Gregg darted out of Jack’s line of sight.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Changing the music!” Jack listened as the simple store tune changed to something better. Jack started to snap his fingers along with the tune until Gregg ran over to him. 

 

“What?” Gregg likely hadn’t really heard Jack’s earlier question about Angus, or maybe he’d forgotten it. 

 

“Angus!” Once again, Jack didn’t get an answer. Gregg just rose his hands in the air and waved his arms around excitedly. 

 

“What are you doin’ here!?”

 

“I live here!”

 

“Since when?!”

  
“Since last night? Uh, 11 or so?”

 

“That’s amazing!” Gregg dropped his arms. “Come to band practice!”

 

“Oh my god, the band is still a thing?” Jack hadn’t expected that to have stayed the same, but he was grateful it had. 

 

“Sure!” Gregg shrugged at that.

 

“When’s practice?”

 

“Now!”

 

“When do you get off work?”  _ Please say now. _

 

“Now!”

 

“Really?” The answer Jack received was Gregg bolting out of the store. “Gregg-uh-?” He was interrupted by a loud yell. Smiling, Jack followed Gregg out of the Snack Falcon.

  
  


Jack was only somewhat confused when Gregg brought him to a new place (somewhere called the Birthday Zone) instead of the Party Barn. Jack figured that the Party Barn had probably closed like the Food Donkey. 

 

It wasn’t a very vibrantly colored place aside from a few bright orange halloween posters, but it had a stage, speakers, and instruments which was really all the band needed to practice. Jack found himself smiling again at the familiar bear who stood next to the microphone stand. Jack walked over, waving.

 

“Hey, Angus!”

“Hey. It’s you.”

 

“It’s Jack!” Gregg’s voice was lower now, but it was no less excited. His ears perked up, eyes focused on Gregg. 

 

“It’s Jack.” Gregg yelled and waved his arms around again, but only for a moment before he ran off somewhere else. He was still the same ball of energy he had been when Jack left. 

 

“So, the Party Barn went out, huh?” 

 

“Yeah. Not really sure how it stayed open, really.”

 

“Like, how many parties are there, really?” In Possum Springs, you knew basically everyone. That was how small it was. Parties weren’t usually held outside of houses after kids started reaching their teens and stopped enjoying running around tables, wearing cheap party hats, and eating not-great food on cheap plastic plates.

 

“You need a lot of parties to keep a barn running.”

 

“I have your old drums!” Gregg called from somewhere else in the building.

 

“Oh, dude, I don’t think I even remember...” 

 

Jack turned around when he heard the door open and close again, watching as a very easy to recognize alligator. No one else in Possum Springs wore black-blue eyeshadow and a black dress with an egyptian symbol on the front.

 

“Hey Bea. Jack’s back.” 

 

“Wow. Uh, hi.”

 

“Yeah. Hi.” Bea said in a rather monotone voice. 

“He’s totally back!” Gregg shouted.

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“Are you, uh, here for band practice?”

 

“I play bass.”

 

“That’s not bass, that’s computer.” Jack pointed out.

 

“It’s fine. She also does your drum parts,” Angus said. 

 

“Well, I understood them as the drum parts, but I can turn them off.”

 

“Turn them off? On your computer?” Bea only gave Jack an annoyed look. 

 

“Hey, Jack, we’re totally gonna play a song! You totally have to play drums!”

 

“Geez, I don’t even remember… That isn’t even bass!” 

 

Gregg returned and helped Jack set up the drums. Then, the group all got to their parts and started playing. 

 

Jack had an extremely hard time keeping up, particularly because he had never heard the song  _ Die Anywhere Else _ before that point in time. One thing he did realize halfway through was how much he missed playing drums and listening to Angus sing. 

 

When it was over, Jack was nearly out of breath, having been panicking about messing up so many parts, and he slumped back in the foldable chair that Gregg had grabbed for him. 

 

“Pretty good.” Gregg said, leaving Jack to briefly wonder whether that would make him feel better or not. 

 

“Yeah, that was okay,” Bea shrugged.

 

“Not bad considering I don’t know this song! Holy crap, that was hard to do!”

 

“You’ll get back in practice,” Angus reassured. 

 

“God, I hope so. My fingers kinda hurt.”

 

“That was great, man. I like just seeing you back, playing drums for the band again!”

 

“Okay, are we doing this diner thing?” Bea interrupted, shutting her laptop.

 

“Yeah!” Jack stood up. Gregg nearly howled his enthusiasm. 

 

“Yay.”

 

“Hip hip.” If Jack didn’t know Bea normally spoke with a monotone voice, he would assume she was constantly being sarcastic or apathetic with everything.

 

Grabbing Jack’s arm, Gregg dragged him out of the Birthday Zone with the other two not far behind. 

 

The Clik Clak was a diner built out of an old train car. It was rather empty, which Jack was grateful for, and it hadn’t really changed since Jack left. It was also pretty warm inside, so Jack took off his jacket. 

 

The group crammed themselves into a booth, smiling a little. Gregg leaned against Angus, who was glad to pull him close. 

 

“Mmmm,” Angus hummed as the only waiter in the diner at the time set down the pizza in front of them.  

 

“Hell yeah, did you miss pizza, Jack?” 

 

“They have pizza at school.” Jack would know. It was what his diet mostly consisted of during the past two years.

 

“Oh, cool!”

 

Together, the group all grabbed a slice of pizza. Jack was grateful to have something to eat, even if it wasn’t the best pizza he’d ever eaten.

 

“This pizza isn’t great.” Angus said as Gregg dropped the crust of his slice back on the table.

 

“It’s pretty horrible,” Bea agreed.

 

“Dudes, haven’t you heard of the pizza scale?” Jack gave him a quizzical look.

 

“Uh, the what?

 

“There's a scale of pizza,” George held up his hands to represent the two ends of a line. “On one end, there’s the worst pizza. But, like, everything right above that is still really good!” 

 

“What’s at the other end of the scale?” 

 

“It’s pizza, all the way up!” Gregg threw his arms up in the air and Angus smiled at him. 

 

“Pizza good.” Jack said, reaching for another slice. The others reached for a new slice as well, Angus being the one to be left empty-handed. Gregg offered to let him take a bite of his slice, tp which Angus happily obliged. 

 

“I mean, it’s no Pastabilities.” Bea said after finishing off her slice. 

“Mmm, I missed Pastabilities,” Jack hummed. “I’m not touching those crusts.”

 

“Same,” Gregg hummed.

 

“We should have gone to Pastabilities.” Jack said, looking out the window in the direction of the restaurant. He definitely missed Pastabilities while he was away at college.  

 

“The diner has… Ambience.” Gregg said, gesturing with his hand.

 

“The seats are comfy,” Angus added.

 

“The food is terrible but, it’s got charm.”

 

“You too fancy for the diner, now?” Gregg asked, mocking a disdainful expression.

 

“Guys, please,” Jack said, holding up his hand. “I was raised in this diner.”

 

“You and, like, a zillion rats.”

 

Jack leaned back in his seat. “So, when are we gonna play out?” He frowned at the snort that came from Bea.

 

“Jack, we don’t play out.” 

 

“Oh?”

 

“We have jobs, Jack.” 

 

“I work at the video outpost, ‘Too,’” Angus said.

 

“I’m at the Ol’ pickaxe.” Jack frowned a little at that, wondering if Bea was still planning on going to school. But, Jack didn’t want to talk about school with the group yet.  

 

“Isn’t that your dad’s store?”

 

“Sure is.”

 

Gregg slammed his hand on the table. “I’m lord of the Snack Falcons!” 

 

“Where’s Casey?” Jack noticed that he hadn’t seen Casey anywhere in town since he’d gotten back. To be fair, he hadn’t gone around town that much since he’d gotten back, but he probably should have seen Casey  _ somewhere _ .

 

The others went silent. Even Gregg’s expression went somber. The silence was enough to make Jack uncomfortable. 

 

“Uh...” Angus clearly was trying to find words came up empty. 

 

“Oh yeah, you wouldn’t know, huh?” Gregg’s voice was sadder, like all the energy had drained out. “Casey’s gone.”

“‘Gone?’ Gone how?” Jack was almost afraid to ask. 

 

“Hopped a train, I bet.” 

 

“Oh, wow… He always talked about doing that.” 

 

“Yeah, one day he was just… Gone.” Angus gave a gentle squeeze to Gregg’s shoulder. Jack could notice the way his eyes were shimmering. 

 

“Made a clean break. Hasn’t emailed or anything.”

 

“Well, good for him, I guess.” Jack wondered if Casey was happy to be out of Possum Springs. He’d always talked about the day he’d one day break out of this small town. He’d go out and live his life instead of growing old in a town where he’d eventually be forgotten.

 

“His parents put up missing person posters, but… Everyone knew what happened.” 

 

“Geez, Casey, I… huh…” Jack couldn’t find words. This was the one thing he had been so sure wouldn’t happen. He’d thought that all of his friends would still be here, in Possum Springs, when he got back. 

 

“Mhmm.” Bea hummed, seemingly unaffected by the conversation. “And what exactly do you do, Jack?” 

 

Jack frowned at her, wondering why she would bring that up when he had just learned that one of his best friends had gone missing. 

 

“I was in college.”

 

“And why exactly are you not still there?” 

 

“It didn’t work out,” Jack said, not looking Bea in the face. He didn’t want to talk about it, hell, he didn’t even want to really think about it.

 

“Huh, imagine that.” Jack gave her a confused look, not sure what he was meant to respond with.

 

_ What do you mean?  _

 

“Well, we better get home, dude.” Angus interjected, wanting to stop the possible situation seemed to be developing. Angus quickly cheered up, smiling a little.

 

“Oh, yeah. Angus got a date with Sword People Online.”

 

“Aw, lucky. I wanna, fuckin, have a date with Sword People Online. Sounds fuckin’ awesome.” Together, the four of them got up and headed out. 

 

“It’s really great to be back.” Jack said, pulling on his jacket as he stepped out of the Clik Clak. Time seemed to have flown by, seeing as the sun was starting to set at the moment. It probably wasn’t that late, seeing as it was getting colder and the days were getting shorter. 

 

“Dude, we can hang out everyday!” Gregg smiled, holding Angus’ hand. His expression faltered when he noticed Angus tighten his grip. Jack noticed that Bea was intensely staring at something, having paused while attempting to light up a cigarette.

 

“Oh my god.” His voice was low, a little shaky.

 

“Holy crap.” Bea’s voice was similar.

 

“What?”

 

“Is that an arm?” Angus asked, attracting Jack’s attention to where he was staring. He felt his own heartbeat stagger when he saw the dismembered limb on the sidewalk. 

 

“Oh fuck, it is! Jesus!”

 

“That’s an arm,” Bea confirmed. 

 

“Nobody move,” Gregg said, staring at the arm for a long moment before loudly saying, “let’s poke it with a stick!” 

 

“I call first!” Jack shouted, leaping down the steps to the Clik Clak and grabbing a random stick on the sidewalk. “Yay, poking things with sticks!” He walked over to the limb and crouched down. 

 

“Jack, this is, like, tampering with evidence.” Angus said, although he and Gregg stepped closer to get a better look.

 

“Am I gonna have to start worrying about getting dismembered on my way home?” 

 

“Shhh!” Gregg hissed, wildly waving with his arm. “I wanna watch this.”

 

“You don’t need your ears to watch.” 

 

“Shhhh!” Gregg hissed again. 

 

“Poke. Poke, poke,” Jack said as he started prodding at the limb. It wasn’t really bleeding much. “That’s a dead arm, all right. It’s not respondin’ or anything!” Bea was probably rolled her eyes as Jack pushed the limb around with the stick. It was enough to push up the sleeve that still covered the limb, revealing a diamond mark on the wrist. “Woah, what’s that?”

 

“Some kind of mark.” 

 

“Is that a tattoo?” Bea asked, revealing that she wasn’t entirely uninterested.

 

“That’s a tattoo,” Angus confirmed. 

 

“What is it?” Jack asked, even though he was getting the idea that the others really had no clue about this entire situation.

 

“I think you just sleuthed out a clue, dude.”  

 

“Oh, for eff’s sake you two.” Bea grumbled, stepping away. 

 

“Here come the cops,” Angus announced, prodding Jack’s shoulder.

 

“Now, what’s going on here?” A familiar voice demanded and Jack didn’t even have to fully look up to know it was Aunt Molly.

 

“Uh oh!” 

 

Jack straightened up, gesturing to the dismembered arm as he spoke. “Hey, Aunt Molly! We found an arm!” 

 

“Alright, Jack, put the stick down and step away from the arm.”

 

“Alright, alright!” Jack dropped the stick and held up his hands, backing away from the arm. “Don’t taser me or anything!” 

 

“No promises,” Molly said, although her tone was rather serious.

 

“Oh, well, I think it’s time for Angus and I to get home. See you tomorrow, Jack!” Molly held up her hand as Gregg and Angus started to make their way down the sidewalk.

 

“Alright, I don’t want any of you walking home alone tonight. Buddy system! Something bad is going on.” Jack wondered if those words should have unsettled him as much as they did.

 

“I can drive Jack home, officer.” Bae said calmly, taking a drag from her cigarette that Jack didn’t see her light. 

 

“Thank you, Bea.” Molly dipped her head in thanks.

 

“Yeah, thanks Bea! Let’s roll!” Jack smiled and pretended it didn’t slightly upset him that Bea didn’t smile back. 

 

For a while, the drive was relatively awkward. It was long enough for the sun to almost completely set, leaving the lamps, house lights, and car headlights to illuminate the cold streets of Possum Springs. 

 

The car radio didn’t seem to work, or at least Bea didn’t want to turn it on, so there was a very long period of awkward silence until Jack decided to try and start a conversation. 

 

“So… Working at the Ol’ Pickaxe?” 

 

“Yep,” Bea answered curtly, not seeming interested in conversation.

 

“Are they training you to take over the family business?” Jack asked, trying to keep the conversation alive. 

 

“ _ They _ ?”

 

“Your parents?” 

 

The car continued moving only for a few more moments before suddenly lurching to a stop.

 

“Hey look, we’re here.” Bea said coldly. Jack didn’t have to look very hard outside to see that this wasn’t his home. 

 

“Uh, my house isn’t actually for a few more blocks-”

 

“Get out.”

 

“Okay, uh, thanks for the ride?” Jack said he unbuckled himself and opened the door. 

 

“Go.” 

 

“Okay,” Jack stepped out of the car, yelping as the car sped ahead after he closed the door. “Jesus,” he looked around himself, “so you’re just gonna dump me out on the street?” Honestly, with finding a dismembered arm and Aunt Molly saying something bad was going on, Jack was having a hard time not worrying as he quickly made his way towards home. 

 

Jack was tired, his feet aching somewhat, as he stepped into the warmth of his home. His plan was to head straight upstairs, but he stopped when he saw his dad sitting on the couch.

 

“Hey, Dad.”

 

“Hey, Jack... Listen, I’m really sorry about last night. I really thought you were coming home tonight.”

 

“It’s okay, I guess…”

 

“You know me, with the bad memory.”

 

“Yeah, I remember. I mean, you do pretty well.”

 

“Yeah, I remember to eat and breathe.”

 

“You’re really good at, like, remembering how to walk.”

 

“I’m a champ.”

 

“Tell ya what, how about we pretend I  _ did _ come home tonight, and we just came back from the bus station?”

 

“Start over?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

“Okay!”

 

There was a brief pause. 

 

“Hey Dad.”

 

“Hey, Jack.”

 

“Thanks for picking me up.”

 

“Welcome home, Jack.”

 

“Alright, well, I think I’m gonna go to sleep now.”   
  


“Well, you’ve had a big day. Goodnight, Jack.”

 

“Goodnight Dad, love you.” Jack took a step towards the staircase before he paused and spun around. “Oh, wait, I forgot to tell you!”

 

“What?”

 

“We found an arm on the ground today!”

 

Jack’s father looked at him quizzically for a long moment before asking, “are we still pretending it’s yesterday?”

 

“No! We came out of the Clik Clak and there was an arm!”

 

“Just, like, an arm?  _ What _ ?”

 

“Aunt Mall Cop came and everything!”

 

“Oh my god. That’s really...  Weird.” 

 

“I poked it with a stick!” Jack’s father frowned a little.

 

“Okay, Jack, don’t go poking dead body parts with sticks!”

 

“Too late!” 

 

“Wow, I’ll have to email Molly.” He murmured and Jack walked over to him.

 

“Alright, i’m going to bed for real now. Goodnight!” Jack gave him a kiss on the cheek like how he had with his mother earlier that morning before heading upstairs. He paused when he saw the crawl space door. He had forgotten to ask his dad to move the boxes. Jack shrugged and continued up the stairs, deciding to ask his dad to move them in the morning. 

 

Jack tugged his jacket off, dropping it on the footboard again before pulling off his shoes and dropping onto the bed. He stretched before curling up under the blankets once again, falling asleep relatively quickly.


End file.
